Shoveling Hog Knuckles!

A machine by any other name...

Harley-Davidson has been around a long time and the longer something exists, the more names it acquires. The photograph you see here is a full custom. No, Harley-Davidson never made a Panhead-Knucklehead hybrid. But when you think about those names, they are pretty weird. The engine names are pretty easy to figure out, though, and there are, quite literally, tens of thousands of stories about them, so I'm not going to get into them beyond this slide. Instead, we are going to take a look at some of the other names that Harley-Davidson motorcycles have gone by over the decades.

Just for those readers that don't know...here is the quick version of engine names: Its name describes it- Flathead's have a "flat-top" cylinder meaning the valvetrain is in the crankcase, not over the top of the piston; Knuckleheads were the first overhead valve engine and the rocker boxes loosely resemble knuckles of a closed fist; Panhead's have rocker boxes that look like an upside-down cake pan; Shovelheads have rocker boxes that resemble a shovel; Evolution's, or sometimes referred to as "Blockhead's" were the "next evolution" in Harley-Davidson engines and their rocker boxes resembled...you guessed it, blocks; Twin-Cams were named for the introduction of a second camshaft in the engine; and finally, the Milwaukee 8 was named for its 8 valves (two intakes, two exhaust on each cylinder). Now that you know that, let's go see a Silent Grey Fellow...

1911 Harley-Davidson Model 7D, aka the Silent Gray Fellow

While this particular image is of a 1912 Model 7D, the piece that set the 7D apart was the muffler, hidden neatly under the frame, which significantly reduced the engine noise. The post-WWI paint options were somewhat limited in the early 1900's, so a significant number of Harley-Davidson motorcycles that left the "factory" back then, were battleship gray. With the bikes being predominantly grey and with the addition of the new mufflers, the motorcycles were aptly named, the "Silent Grey Fellows" and they were a huge success.

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Going for a ride on my 'Coon...wait, what??

No, that's not photoshopped... That is a racing raccoon on Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew member Bill Minnick's lap. While the most famous of Harley-Davidson Racing Archive photographs shows the rough and tumble looking racer Ray Weishaar giving his newly adopted pet pig "Johnny" a sip from a Coca-Cola bottle after a record-setting win, the pig was not the only mascot the team used. Far from it, actually. The team had a dog, a rabbit, and there were even rumors that they had a turtle at one point. But, the term "Hog" didn't actually come from that little soda drinking bacon factory as popular belief carries, it actually developed from a journalist, when he noted that the Harley-Davidson motorcycles were "hogging" the racetrack. Add that to the picture of Weishaar and "Johnny" and you have yourself a name that would carry on through the ages. It's a good thing, too. I mean let's face it... if the MoCo's mascot was a little fuzzy bunny or even the trash panda (aka, the raccoon), would they still be as cool? Would tough guy bikers still relish in their mystique if their mascot was "cuddly"? I think not.

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Hog gets official

The word "hog" would come to be such a common name for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that the company actually tried to trademark the word. Their attempts failed, but not before 1983 when they got clever and created their company-sponsored riding organization, specifically named the "Harley Owner's Group" or more commonly referred to as... you guessed it, "H.O.G." Not a bad move by the marketing department... Not bad at all. 

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... Is still a Harley-Davidson

Yes, it's true. Call them hogs, silent gray fellows, knucks, shovels, pans or even AMF'rs but truly, a machine by these names is still a Harley-Davidson to us. Everybody has their own names for their bikes anyway. Some of my friends have named their machines names like "Frankenstein," "Pearl," "Elvira," "The Therapist" and even, "The Bitch." Yes, I suppose we are all a bunch of weirdos when it comes to our bikes, but after all, we spend a lot of time with them. They provide a solid source of stress relief, a way to express our personal freedom and more importantly, they become a part of our identities. Police officers assigned to the motorcycle division refer to themselves as "Motors" or "Wheels," depending on which part of the country you are in. If you go to any kind of gathering and someone rides up on a motorcycle, the other riders will gravitate toward that person and the next thing you know, motorcycle stories are being told and friendships are being forged. Motorcycles, especially Harley-Davidson motorcycles transcend age, race, ethnicity, sex and cultural backgrounds. I think that's why the Motor Company has been in business for the last 115 years. They embrace their customers and encourage their individual weirdness. It's pretty cool when you really think about it.

So who cares what you call yours, as long as you keep your ass in the saddle, and your knees in the breeze. 

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For maintenance and repair guides for your Harley, browse our technical How-to articles right here on HDForums.